Advice on hormones please

[katew]

I posted early in April that we had lost our beautiful girl pig and were left with a grumpy boy.

We have been searching for a companion (female because he has only ever been with females) but it was hopeless. Even the pet shops didn't have any. He is fine if a bit lonely - his best days are eating tons of grass and sleeping in the sun. His weight is steady.

Our local Blue Cross have just come up trumps and we are picking up a pair of bonded girls (just over 3 years old) on Friday.

Because he has been on his own for a while we are going to put them side by side at first and see how it goes, He is 6 so I am hoping that he is past being a nuisance, but who knows. If we try and introduce them, I will read up all the articles on here about what to do.

My concern is that one of the girls has just been spayed. It was because of cysts - I am guessing ovarian. Will that change the dynamic between the two girls because her hormones may be different? Are we going to be managing three complicated guinea pigs?

Has anyone else had a similar situation?

 

[Wiebke]

I posted early in April that we had lost our beautiful girl pig and were left with a grumpy boy.

We have been searching for a companion (female because he has only ever been with females) but it was hopeless. Even the pet shops didn't have any. He is fine if a bit lonely - his best days are eating tons of grass and sleeping in the sun. His weight is steady.

Our local Blue Cross have just come up trumps and we are picking up a pair of bonded girls (just over 3 years old) on Friday.

Because he has been on his own for a while we are going to put them side by side at first and see how it goes, He is 6 so I am hoping that he is past being a nuisance, but who knows. If we try and introduce them, I will read up all the articles on here about what to do.

My concern is that one of the girls has just been spayed. It was because of cysts - I am guessing ovarian. Will that change the dynamic between the two girls because her hormones may be different? Are we going to be managing three complicated guinea pigs?

Has anyone else had a similar situation?

Hi

A spayed sow won't come into season anymore but otherwise there is no difference whatsoever. I've had quite a number of spayed sows living in mixed and same gender groups/pairs of various sizes over the years - both adopted and privately operated for medical reasons. Unlike active ovarian cysts which can cause disruptive behaviour, spaying removes this problem and rather helps with social stability.

Whether the girls will accept your boy is very much another question but they will be perfectly fine to live as neighbours with interaction through the bars if the bonding isn't working out. He will be a much happier boy either way.

 

[katew]

Hi

A spayed sow won't come into season anymore but otherwise there is no difference whatsoever. I've had quite a number of spayed sows living in mixed and same gender groups/pairs of various sizes over the years - both adopted and privately operated for medical reasons. Unlike active ovarian cysts which can cause disruptive behaviour, spaying removes this problem and rather helps with social stability.

Whether the girls will accept your boy is very much another question but they will be perfectly fine to live as neighbours with interaction through the bars if the bonding isn't working out. He will be a much happier boy either way.

Thank you - that is very reassuring